IN contrast to Mark Harper' s "Creating a welfare system" to act as a safety net for those in need, (The Forester, October 21), Carl Spilby wants a return to a state which believes in throwing money at every problem – real or imagined – rather than addressing the root causes.
In quoting various economists promoting Government intervention, Mr Spilby forgets that Keynesian economics had played havoc with Britain's financial health all through the Sixties and Seventies. Almost every project to promote employment or economic regeneration based on government subsidies and increasing material consumption has failed.
Comparing the deficit created by Labour over the past decade by bloating the public sector with the post war situation does disservice to that generation which overcame untold hardships and gave all for the generations that followed. The deficit then was the aftermath of a devastating war. Today's deficit is man-made, its root cause is expectations beyond what the state can deliver and borrowing to make up the difference.
Adam Smith measured a nation's wealth by the surplus left after meeting essential needs. In contrast, today's economists warn of dire consequences when their artificially created consumption levels falter.
What we spend has to be paid for by production of tangible goods and services that others want to buy from us. Britain's industrial production is less than 20% of GDP and much of what we consume is imported and has to be paid for in real money.
The banking and financial sector which generates Britain's invisible income is in the doldrums and kept alive with public money. Measuring our paper wealth in terms of house prices, car sales, holiday travel, mobile phone use or plastic debt is living in cloud cuckoo land. Borrowing on hope of future economic growth and leaving future generations to pay our debt is criminal. The last Government started believing in the illusion it created and came unstuck.
It is not all dark and gloom, Britain has been and still is an inventive nation, it has always adapted and responded to change and will do so again. It is necessary occasionally to prod people out of their sleep and that is what David Cameron's Government is doing.
Not all public services created over the past decade or more are essential and most people will find alternatives. Rather than carp about cuts, this should be seen as an opportunity for reinventing Britain and build our future prosperity on traditional British prudence and generating real wealth. Indications are that this is already happening.
The coalition government has to be congratulated for weaning the people from state-dependency and bringing Britain down to the real world. Future generations will thank David Cameron for that.
Councillor Venk Shenoi
(Con, Churcham and Huntley)